Cost of Police Mobile Command Vehicle Grows

Bids are in to build a new high-tech "Mobile Command Vehicle" for San Diego police, and the tab is considerably more than the $250,000 estimate orginally posted on the city's procurement website last month.

As we reported in November, the cops are looking for a 31-foot vehicle, "built on a new, current model year Freightliner MT-55 Chassis," and equipped with "landline, cellular and satellite phone service, cellular and satellite internet/intranet systems, and satellite television.”

Three 42˝ LCD or LED video monitors are also to be included: "All televisions/monitors [are] to have their own video selector switch, capable of selecting any video input available in the vehicle, (i.e. On Air Television, Helicopter Video Downlink, Satellite Television, etc.)”

The specs also called for a “complete hybrid telephone system, capable of operating on landline inputs, Tellular, or satellite service,” along with “a complete .96cm Ku-band satellite system,” and “Three Panasonic CF31 Laptop Toughbook computers, installed at the workstations.”

The city had originally advertised an estimated price of $250,000 for the vehicle but that number was later taken down. City procurement specialist Beverly Asbill-Gumbs subsequently told us that the estimate had been posted in error.

Second lowest was Hansel Ford, Inc., with $504,973. Then came the Emergency Vehicle Group and Matthews Specialty Vehicles, Inc., virtually tied at $546,023 and $546,690 respectively. Finally there was San Diego Freightliner at $514,344, which, according to the document, bid only 5 of 9 items. The other vendors bid 8 of 9.

These "mobile command centers" are nothing but huge rip offs of the public treasury by some dork GED educated cop spending other peoples (as in me and you) money.

San Diego has had these mobile command centers for 20 years-just not as fancy or hi-tech (and do they need this hi-tech equipment??of coursenot). And the ONLY time I have EVER seen them deployed is at Mission Beach on the 4th of July, have never ever seen them besides the 4th, and I question the need for them even on the 4th of July on a cost/benefit ratio.

This is why we should always vote NO on any tax inceases. If these clowns are wasting this kind of money in a depression then they obviously have no business or the responsibility for running a city or maintaining a bottom line.

If they want this garbage white elephant fine, take it out of the PD's pension budget, then we will see how much this junk pile is truly needed.